Pages

Hoping & Preserving.

I recently attempted my first ever venture into chutney and sauerkraut and I've never been more nervous of a result...

Having some leftover red cabbage and not really knowing what to do with it, I decided that it might be nice to attempt a red cabbage sauerkraut. Never having experimented with this before, I decided to use the simplest recipe that I could find. It also came with a little traditional, family story, which I completely bought into and imagined little jars of purple, pickled joy. I made no edits to the recipe at all, apart from using red cabbage as opposed to any other type of brassica oleracea. I'll be honest, I'm not actually a big sauerkraut fan, but I'm hoping making it myself will give me a new sense of enthusiasm to lead my taste buds into parade. If not, Alex will eat it. He likes anything vaguely German; I'm looking forward to becoming some sort of object of magic and worship once I start making my own sausages. After waiting what seemed like forever for the fairies to make cabbage in boiling water into something special, I cracked open the first jar with anticipation- and by golly, it was actually good! a lovely, sweet taste and not too vinegary. It's particularly fabulous on an oatcake with either strong cheddar or feta. I'm very pleased. More leftover cabbage will be going this way.

I am less optimistic about my rather anaemic looking marrow chutney. I probably should have done more research, other than reading a couple of recipes and deciding I could probably make it up as I went along. I haven't tasted it yet, I was hoping the colour might deepen if left alone, plus I hate disappointment, and I'm fairly sure it's coming. I'm going to assume that I didn't use enough sugar, hance the pale complexion. Once I'm brave enough, I'll update on the taste. Don't expect much.

Get me to cater for you!

Having an interest in cooking means being able to facilitate a constant state of eating. Ergo I bloody love cooking.
Up until quite recently I would eat anything and everything, even the things that other people would physically recoil from. Shockingly, as I've now completed my 20s, I've realised there are a lot more things I can no longer stomach.
Somehow I've ended up both gluten free and vegan. And despite it sounding really restrictive, it's actually bloody easy. I should know, I'm a pretty basic cook, really - and just look at the variety of food I make and have available to me! It's immense and "making things vegan" has actually reignited my passion for cooking. Who'd have known?!
Expect a glug of vegan and gluten free recipes, a drizzle of my life story and a rare bonus dash of something I can't stick in my face. I will also attempt humour, so a pinch of salt to hand is recommended.